American Civil Religion

Increasingly, I believe too many Christians do not have a Christian response to most aspects of life. Instead of a true New Testament Kingdom of God mentality, we have firmly ensconced ourselves in an Old Testament judge mentality, despite the Old Covenant’s obsolescence and replacement and the demise of the national Israel of the Old Testament.

Compounding this error, American Christians have a desperate need to be seen as right on everything, regardless of who or what this tramples. To our amazement, we are now eating the fruit of that error and yet remain incredulous and oblivious to how this reversal of fortune came to be.

To sum it up, we’ve been doing it wrong and just can’t admit that we’re the ones who screwed up.

Of course, this does not excuse the world, as the world has screwed up just as badly or worse. But we Christians simply can no longer pretend that we are innocent bystanders to our own undoing.

I write all this because I continue to see rotten and ill-advised behavior by Christians in the public square. We can’t seem to learn our lessons.

This post is about getting ourselves back on course. Take it for what it is, a 50-something Christian attempting to inject some wisdom into the conversation.

How Christians Must Think and Act about the News & Current Events

The most important thing to understand about all news and about all conversations that spring from current events: Most likely, you and I were not there. For this reason, anything we hear in response is hearsay.

The Bible says this:

“Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” —Matthew 5:33-37 NIV

Jesus is talking about oaths and vows here, but His point is that we not go in our speech where we cannot promise or understand. When we go beyond our understanding, we invite Satan into our words.

I believe this is critical for how we speak in the days ahead.

When we comment on news stories and current events, we rely on hearsay, information we cannot corroborate. Most of are old enough and wise enough to know that unbiased reporting is a myth and probably always has been. Human beings always bring their own perspectives and biases into all communications. Period.

If you and I were not there to witness and personally experience an event, commenting on motivations of individuals/groups/governments and speculations beyond what was personally seen with eyes and heard with ears are out of bounds for us. We simply cannot know.

The proper Christian response in that case is not to speculate, but to say instead, “What a tragic event!” or “How sad for those people.”

That is letting your yes be yes and your no no.

The Bible makes the truth of this even more clear:

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? —Jeremiah 17:9 KJV

You cannot know another’s motivations. Heck, you cannot even know your own motivations, so how can you speculate on what people involved in crimes or tragic events were thinking or why they acted the way they did? Do you know that person personally? Do you know his or her story? Were you there with them when they did what they did?

No, you do not know and you likely were not there. So don’t speak as if you do know or were there.

In short, don’t add fuel to any fire about which you know nothing. And the fact is, you and I know nothing about most everything.

The only Christian response is to say as little as possible and to leave the speculation to speculators, of which you are not to be.

Instead be as still as possible. Yes yes, and no no.

How Christians Must Think and Act about Politics (I)

The only allegiance the Christian is to have is to the King, Jesus, and to his Kingdom. Jesus Himself said this. He takes precedence even over our families. He is #1, and everyone and everything else is a far distant #2. This is God’s wisdom for our own spiritual health.

When it comes to the Kingdom of God, we are to pursue it first and foremost. In all we do, we do it for the King and the Kingdom.

To this end, when we engage in politics, we are to engage it with a Kingdom perspective and as citizens of the Kingdom of God before considering any earthly Kingdoms:

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. —Matthew 6:33 NLT

Therefore, when we consider candidates for political office, we should keep this in mind:

1. The candidates we endorse should pursue and promote the Kingdom of God as much as humanly possible within a system of government, as directed and empowered by God. 2. Candidates for political office who receive our vote must reflect the evidences of the Kingdom of God and its fruit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control. 3. We should in no way endorse, promote, or vote for a candidate who does not reflect the two conditions above.

No excuses, Christian. Do not vote for or endorse candidates who cannot or will not reflect the purposes of the Kingdom of God. Vote for someone else. Write in a vote. But do not cast your vote for people who oppose the Kingdom of God and its evidences and fruit.

How Christians Must Think and Act about Politics (II)

If we want to talk about governments and the Bible and attempt to pry verses out of the Bible to endorse the American system of government, we will fail. I’ve looked, and I see no evidence for a democratic system of government in the Scriptures. Likewise, if we want to find a federalist system of government, we might find something similar, but that would be Rome—not the most positive example in most of Scripture. Read Revelation if you don’t believe me.

We Christians in America have it difficult, because in America, the system of government is by the people and for the people. Finding direct Bible verses that speak to how such a form of government would operate and how Christians within it should operate it is like finding a needle in a haystack—except there is no haystack.Monarchies rule in Scripture. Even the Kingdom of God is a monarchy.

This poses a problem for Christians who attempt to pry verses out of the Bible to endorse how our American government is to act.

Christians are given direction on how they are supposed to function as members of the Church, but not so much on how they are to govern on immigration issues, for instance. We are to be kind to all aliens, but would closing down immigration into our country for a set number of years become an unkindness? We don’t have a Bible verse for that.

The problem is, we err sometimes when we attempt to force a verse to say something about government immigration policy when it’s not meant to be used that way.

Part of the problem for the American Christian is that we will NOT find verses that tell us how we should handle gun control, or immigration, or welfare, or any of a number of other topics intended at a governmental level. We are sometimes told what we should do in our churches, but the government is not the Church, nor vice versa, and too many Christians try to meld the two, resulting in an unholy abomination that works neither as a Church nor as a responsible government.

Again, we must go back to the Kingdom of God.

What does the American government look like when American Christians act out their responsibilities as citizens within a representative government of the people and for the people WHILE also promoting their primary responsibility, the advancement of the Kingdom of God?

I find this question is not asked by most Christians, nor even most Christian politicians. Instead, we make futile attempts to make the Bible say things about governance in a federal republic that aren’t there in the Book.

What this means is that Christians in America need to rely on the source of wisdom we perpetually think we can do without: the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the mouthpiece and “town cryer” of the Kingdom of God. The Holy Spirit is the distinguishing mark of the Church.

Keep in place the underlying Scriptures that speak to Christian character and practice on a 1:1 level , but govern in such a way that we Christians listen to and operate from the leadership of the Holy Spirit, which we then carry over into our government.

Sadly, most Christians today have no idea how to make that happen, because too many of us are plugged into our gadgets and distractions and not plugged into hearing the voice of God through the Spirit.

Want a godly government? Christian, put the Kingdom first and listen to the voice of the King. We may not have a verse to cover a particular issue, but we will be covered by the voice of the Spirit, who can speak to any situation we face.

Mention the word socialism to people and you’re likely to conjure images of Soviet tanks in Red Square, stern men with spider-veined noses, and the hammer & sickle.

Or some folks might think 2015’s first Democratic debate, when several Commander-in-Chief-wannabes fell all over each other to promise the most free stuff to the most people.

Or some might talk about a Scandinavian country or two, and how those countries seem to do a better job taking care of people at all stages of life than we do in the U.S. Canada’s or England’s “socialized medicine” may get a mention.

A few Christians may even recollect Gog & Magog, Hal Lindsey’s The Late Great Planet Earth, and Armageddon.

Whatever the case, a quick perusal of social (not socialist) media reveals the always inevitable divisions, as Americans line up either to fight socialism tooth-and-nail or to embrace it wholeheartedly.

Perhaps stating what socialism actually is might help focus the discussion. From Merriam Webster:

Socialism1: any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods2 a: a system of society or group living in which there is no private propertyb: a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state3: a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done

As the definition states, a line of demarcation exists between communism and socialism, with socialism a stop on the way to full-fledged communism. Merriam Webster again:

Communism1 a: a theory advocating elimination of private propertyb: a system in which goods are owned in common and are available to all as needed2capitalizeda: a doctrine based on revolutionary Marxian socialism and Marxism-Leninism that was the official ideology of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republicsb: a totalitarian system of government in which a single authoritarian party controls state-owned means of productionc: a final stage of society in Marxist theory in which the state has withered away and economic goods are distributed equitablyd: communist systems collectively

I think these two definitions provide a foundation to talk about what socialism is and isn’t.

Now, because this is a Christian blog that aspires to make sense of modern American Christian living in light of the 1st century Church, I’ll throw into this mix two passages from the Bible:

So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. —Acts 2:41-47 ESV

Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. —Acts 4:32-35 ESV

I believe it is important for us to place these verses in the context of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit first fell on the new Church in power. What were the actions of people newly filled by the Spirit of God?

Devoting themselves to receiving teaching

Devoting themselves to fellowship and to one another

Sharing meals together

Praying

Manifesting signs and wonders

Showing awe for God’s working

Practicing unity by holding all things in common

Selling possessions and land and distributing the proceeds to those among them who were needy

Ensuring none among them was needy

Redistributing goods and properties

Rejecting claims of personal ownership

Meeting together in the temple and in each others’ homes

Displaying gladness, generosity, and praise to God

Testifying to the resurrection of Jesus

Would you not agree that all these are evidence of a changed way of thinking and living due to being filled with the Spirit? They were practices and beliefs that set apart Christians from the rest of the society of their time. They are the distinctives of Christian life, belief, and practice made manifest immediately after the individuals who make up the Church were filled by the Holy Spirit.

You hear the term DNA tossed around a lot in both the corporate world and American churches. But do we believe that the list above constitutes part of the DNA of the Church?

No, I don’t believe we do.

It never fails that quoting these two passages from Acts raises more ire in supposed born-again Christians than almost anything I can quote from the New Testament.

Actually, let me qualify that: They raise the ire of American Christians. I’m not so sure they would trouble those who live outside North America or who cannot be considered part of the West.

The trouble items in the list:

Practicing unity by holding all things in common

Selling possessions and property and distributing the proceeds to those among them who were needy

Ensuring none among them was needy

Redistributing goods and properties

Rejecting claims of personal ownership

Some Christians bristle at the thought of socialism coming to America. Other Christians think the Church needs to be more socialistic or at least support government programs that reflect socialistic ways of thinking and acting.

The catch: According to the definitions from Merriam Webster, the economy the early Church practices in Acts wasn’t what we commonly think. In fact, it wasn’t socialism at all but—wait for it—communism (see the definition 1b).

Does that make anyone out there squirm?

Here’s another problem for those who have some issues with this new New Testament way of thinking about God’s economy: The Old Testament undergirds it.

And the LORD said to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel. “To the Levites I have given every tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service that they do, their service in the tent of meeting, so that the people of Israel do not come near the tent of meeting, lest they bear sin and die…” —Numbers 18:20-22 ESV

In the Old Covenant, the inheritance of the Levites, the tribe called by God to be His priests, was a portion of the bounty of those who were not in the priesthood. We call that a tithe, usually considered to be 10 percent, and it was what was expected to be received by the priesthood.

We know that the New Covenant Jesus established replaced the inadequate Old Covenant. Did that mean that Jesus did away with the priesthood?

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. —1 Peter 2:9 ESV

John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. —Revelation 1:4-6 ESV

Who is the priesthood in the New Testament? Everyone who is born again in Jesus. In other words, every person who comprises the Church.

And how do we see that priesthood operating in Acts? By tithes? By capitalism? By private ownership?

About that latter one:

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. —Galatians 2:20 ESV

For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. —Colossians 3:3-6 ESV

What happens to the legal rights of the dead? To their property? What do they still own? Or can call their own?

Let’s run that list through one more time of the distinguishing practices of the Spirit-filled Church:

Practicing unity by holding all things in common

Selling possessions and property and distributing the proceeds to those among them who were needy

Ensuring none among them was needy

Redistributing goods and properties

Rejecting claims of personal ownership

I hear a lot of talk about Acts 2 and 4 being descriptive and not prescriptive. But when you consider that the Spirit-filled Church understood itself to be a priesthood in which every person functioned as a priest, and that each person had been united to Christ in His death and could no longer lay claim to the things the living expect, it all begins to come together and make sense. We can see why the Church lived out that list.

What we see is a new economy. God’s New Testament economy. The economy of a Spirit-filled Church. We, a royal priesthood, are no longer our own; we were bought with a price. That changes everything.

Because of Jesus, we don’t just give up part of ourselves, but we give up everything to be dead to the world and alive in Him.

Jesus is our inheritance as a priesthood. Nothing is ours in the world but Him. It’s all His, even us. Therefore, everything we are in Him is always to be available, especially to our fellow priests, who are His and in Him as well.

The problem for us American Christians is that we are Americans first and Christians second when it comes to issues of God’s New Testament economy. We don’t want to give up the idea of that thing over there being mine or that property belonging to me. We don’t want to hold things in common or give more than 10 percent, even though Jesus owns us and has made us His new priesthood.

Instead, we go off on tangents. We bristle at the idea that the government should forcibly take away our stuff and give it to someone else. Yet at the same time, we—as the Church—can’t be bothered to give up our stuff in the name of Jesus either, even if that stuff is going to a fellow Christian who needs it more than we do. Heck, we’re not even sure we should share it.

The American Dream clouds almost everything God wants us to think about how His New Testament economy works. Our hatred for Soviet-style Communism or Scandinavian quasi-Socialism obscures the rest. (See “American Civil Religion vs. True Christianity” for more.)

The result? We don’t really live the way the Bible shows how people filled with the Spirit are supposed to live when it comes to our stuff. Nor do we want to.

We won’t even consider it.

Which is sad, because I fear I wasted my time writing this.

So we Christians in America will go on debating whether the United States is threatened by socialism or communism or some other anti-Americanism -ism while God holds out His hands all day, every day, to a stiff-necked people who just can’t bring themselves to live the countercultural way He has purchased for us. Meanwhile, the lost of today sit waiting for someone, anyone, to heed the call to model for them the reality of the Kingdom of God.

In my previous post, “The Only Martyr’s Death Worth Dying,” I began to explore differences that exist between true Christian faith and the mishmash we often practice in America. A fancy word for this melange exists, syncretism, which is the blending of two different ideas or practices into one. Often those ideas or practices are contradictory, yet the practitioner cannot recognize the inherent contradictions.

Nowhere is this syncretism more apparent than in America. The narrative of our country and the narrative of the Kingdom of God have syncretized so profoundly that the religion far too many self-proclaimed Christians in America practice isn’t true Christianity at all but something I like to call American Civil Religion.

How this ties into my previous post is that most people who oppose Christianity in America are not haters of true Christianity but of American Civil Religion. Where this is sad for the American Church is that most people cannot tell the difference. They think American Civil Religion (ACR) IS true Christianity.

Part of that confusion is due to the syncretism that spawned ACR. Because some elements of true Christianity are sprinkled throughout ACR, it looks like a twin, but to people who are discerning, the differences are stark.

The funny thing about ACR is that many who embody it are also quick to talk about “another Gospel,” as in this passage:

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. —Galatians 1:6-9

Yet which gospel do we Americans actually affirm?

Here are six distinctions between American Civil Religion and true Christianity:

1. Bogeymen

ACR lives and dies by its bogeymen. Someone or something must be opposed and feared. The current president. Illegal aliens. Communism. Tyranny. Standardized testing in schools. Homosexuals. Liberals. Socialists. Blacks. Whites. Jews. Muslims. Middle East dictators. Loss of values. Loss of freedoms. Loss of rights. There is always a threatening bogeyman or two, and this galvanizes those enmeshed in ACR. It’s almost a lifeblood element.

Unlike some of the items on this list, true Christianity does not have an analogous issue. The closest bogeyman the true Christian gets is Satan. Like the decapitated rattlesnake in its death throes that can still bite by reflex, Satan is not safe, but for the true Christian, he is a defeated opponent. And defeated opponents make for lousy bogeymen. The Bible reminds us that our respect and awe are reserved for God alone, and when we abide in Christ, Satan has no power over us. Fearing bogeymen is not a concern for the true Christian. If anything, when ACR’s bogeymen are actual people and groups, the true Christian is called to show love to those bogeymen and pray for them.

2. Fear

Because bogeymen play so well into the ACR narrative, fear must result. Fear is ever-present in the heart of ACR practitioners. They will know they are ACR by their fear.

But true Christians understand that fear and faith don’t mix. The perfect love of God casts out all fear. The true Christian cannot be a slave to fear because he or she abides in Christ. And what can assail Christ? Nothing and no one. They will know they are Christians by their love.

3. Loss

People enmeshed in ACR are obsessed with loss. In America, the ACR narrative forever talks about loss of rights, freedoms, our “Christian heritage,” and so on. Yet above these is the greatest loss of all for ACR proponents: loss of control. Again, this plays into fear.

True Christian faith recognizes that there is nothing to lose because everything has been lost already. “You have died, and your life is now hidden in Christ,” writes the Apostle Paul. “You are not your own; you have been bought with a price,” he adds. Loss means nothing because no one and nothing can take away Jesus. Likewise, the Christian cannot be removed from Him. If anything, loss brings joy in the life of the Christian, because losing the dross of the world means more room to gain Christ.

4. God & ____________

ACR is forever pairing God with something or someone. God & Country. God & Guns. God & Military. God & GOP. We even have a concept in American history that embodies this concept in two words: Manifest Destiny. Want to legitimize any “righteous” cause for the ACR? Pair it with God.

The true Christian avoids creating anything that forces God to share His Glory, because God will not share it, ever. The closest the true Christian gets is to abide in Christ—God & the Church, and even then God remains the sole focus of our worship.

5. Kingdoms

In ACR, it’s America first. Always. When asked their citizenship, ACR believers will respond with “America” and almost never “Heaven.” Still, kingdoms perplex ACR. “King”-anything recalls America’s revolution and smacks of tyranny. That noted, an underlying desire in many ACR proponents is to be a sort of new Kingdom of Israel here in the United States. For this reason, those enmeshed in ACR tend to quote from the Old Testament at the expense of the New in their apologetics. However, while ACR believers will quote Bible verses to support the essentials of their “faith,” those verses often have no structure to undergird the actual Kingdom of God.

In stark contrast, true Christianity recognizes the New Testament’s Kingdom of God as the framework for everything the Christian says and does. Scripture is used in a way that perpetually goes back to this Kingdom and its Now and Not Yet reality. In that reality, Christ is King and Christians are Citizens of a Heavenly Kingdom. America, as a political entity, must always be a distant second in allegiance. The Christian’s ambassadorship is for Christ and His Kingdom alone. (This is a primary area of concern for true Christianity in America because the Church here perpetually struggles with its Kingdom of God narrative, largely due to the nonstop noise coming from ACR.)

6. Self

Self is at the heart of ACR. Our way of living. Our freedoms. Our rights. Our country. Yet even in the midst of all that “our” lies a whole lot of “me.”

Selflessness is at the heart of true Christianity. The Christian esteems others better than himself. She lives for Christ, dies to self, and considers doing so a privilege. The Kingdom of God matters, and the individual Christian within it not so much. Jesus must increase and all who love Him must decrease.

It doesn’t take much effort to see the differences between ACR and true Christianity, yet few of us make the distinction. People who don’t know God can’t make this distinction at all, and this should concern those of us who don’t want to perpetuate ACR. When ACR is mistaken for true Christian faith and practices, everyone loses.

None of this is to say that you and I can’t be Christians and Americans too. Nor does it imply that we can’t be “rah-rah America.” National pride does not negate Christian belief or vice versa. It’s a matter of allegiance. For the Christian, the allegiance is to Christ, and nothing can supercede this. The true Christian’s real citizenship is not in any earthly political entity but in an unseen one in which the Lord rules.

If this post makes you mad, consider that you’re mad because our American Civil Religion is so engrained in everything we say, do, and live in America. Consider that ACR is a false gospel based on fear. Consider its selfishness. Consider that it obfuscates true Christianity. Consider that perhaps it’s what non-Christians hate most of all. Consider that ACR has become your faith and mine instead of true Christianity.